There were other ships bringing Christmas trees to Chicago, but Captain Schuenemann's was the favorite. He and older brother August sailed what is believed to be the first boatload of Christmas trees to Chicago in December 1887. Of course, that late in the season winter gales and ice were a constant threat.
On November 9, 1898, a storm sank brother August's ship off Glencoe. he and his four-man crew drowned. Herman would have been on the ship except he stayed behind to take care of the family lumber business and twin babies just born in October.
However, he wasn't so lucky in November 1912. After making the 300-mile trip to Michigan's Upper Peninsula and loading the trees aboard the 44-year-old schooner Rouse Simmons, he set off for the return trip.
The day they left, November 21st, weather conditions were deteriorating, temperatures dropping, sheets of rain and 50+ mile-an-hour winds kicking up twenty-foot waves. Ice covered the trees and deck and the ship sank deeper in the water under the weight.
A Coast Guard station in Wisconsin spotted a ship matching the Rouse Simmons' description with sails in tatters and flag at half-mast in distress, but it then disappeared in the storm. This was on November 23.
A Dangerous Business. --Cooter
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